For better or worse, AI bots are slowly taking over the internet, with AI tools generating content, which is then being re-processed by other AI tools, in order fuel AI answers from their own AI systems.
That means that, over time, the internet is becoming a copy of a copy of a copy, and losing the rich detail and nuance of original content, in favour of an increasing deluge of AI slop.
Which is why this is such an interesting shift.
This week, 404 Media published a report that explained how Instagram is using AI-generated summaries of posts in order to increase their ranking in Google Search.
As you can see in this example, that description, “meet the bunny who loves bananas…” was not written by the post author, but was instead added by Meta AI, in order to ensure better search ranking for this post.
And the captions are actually a lot longer than that. 404 Media found another example that read:
“Seattle’s cosplay photography is a treasure trove of inspiration for fans of the genre. Check out these real-life cosplay locations and photos taken by @mrdangphotos. From costumes to locations, get the scoop on how to recreate these looks and capture your own cosplay moments in Seattle.”
None of this was written by a human, it was generated by Meta AI, which Meta confirmed in an explanation to 404 Media.
Meta said that it recently began using AI to generate titles for posts that appear in search engine results, in order to help people better understand the content.
Though it seems pretty clear that helping people is not the main focus here, with the target of these more wordy, keyword-packed descriptions being Google itself, in order to maximize discoverability of IG content.
So, essentially, this is content being written by AI, in order to appeal to Google's AI systems, and improve search ranking.
Is this really where we want the web to be headed, with AI bots communicating with each other, in order to align with each others’ code, and determine what’s most relevant, based on their digital understanding?
That’s a less human internet, and a less people-focused experience. But it makes sense for Meta to do it, and if it can automate a process to get more users to its apps, it will.
It just feels like another example of the AI ouroboros effect, in which bots are essentially eating themselves over and over, in order to game their own systems.
Of course, there are also concerns about misinterpretation, and these summaries providing misleading information that’s not what the post author intended. Meta will argue that this will improve over time, but it can’t possibly understand why somebody was posting something, and get that caption right every time.
I guess, the counter then would be that this will get more people looking at these posts, which is a better outcome for the creator either way, but it still feels like a step towards a worse experience, through regurgitated, repackaged, and recycled code tricks, designed purely to game another AI system.
And it’s only going to get worse. A recent report suggests that more than 50% of articles on the web are now being generated by artificial intelligence, as people look for more ways to capitalize on the money-making potential of AI tools, largely through unlicensed, unapproved replication.
And again, as more AI content gets pumped out, more AI content goes back into the meat grinder, churning out these new offerings of misunderstood, diluted, eroded human input.
At what point does that render AI tools of such degraded value that they’re actually not beneficial in a creative context? And if that’s the case, then what does that mean for the market cap of generative AI as a product?
It also further reinforces my opposition to social platforms making it so easy for anyone to create posts with AI in-stream. Social media is just that, it’s supposed to be “social,” relating to connection between human beings. You could argue the definition of “social” in this respect, and whether engaging with an AI entity also qualifies, but the foundational basis of social media is rooted in human connection.
Which AI bots cannot replicate. Sure, they can give you something like it, but an AI bot hasn’t gone through the experiences that have led to it creating an artwork that truly resonates.
That’s the whole point of art and creativity, to celebrate what humans can achieve, through passion and dedication. Yet, tech bros seem so keen to supplant that with a single button that you can press to do the same thing, without any effort.
Is that what people really want?
I suspect that, if you think it is, you’re going to be disappointed with the end result.
